Touch panel and touch-sensitive display device

ABSTRACT

A touch panel structure and the manufacturing method thereof are disclosed, in which the manufacturing method includes the steps of: providing a bonding layer; and forming a conductive pattern layer on the bonding layer; wherein the conductive pattern layer is composed of at least one first and at least one second major conductors with an insulation layer interposed between the first and the second major conductors. Comparing with the prior art for manufacturing touch panels, the disclosure is advantageous in material cost, production cost, and production yield; moreover, the panel lamination process can be simplified and the touch panel structure can be joined to a planar or curvy panel and facilitate the design of a thinner product.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No.13/045,105, filed on Mar. 10, 2011.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a touch panel structure, atouch-sensitive display device and the manufacturing method thereof, andmore particularly, to a touch panel structure formed on a bonding layer,which can be joined to a panel of arbitrary curvature and simplifiesmanufacturing process of touch panel devices.

TECHNICAL BACKGROUND

Conventional touch panel structures, whether a single-panel ordouble-panel type, was fabricated by the screen-printing orphotolithography process on a transparent conductive substrate.Generally the transparent conductive substrate is composed of glass orplastic, and is expensive. Once a touch panel in the fabrication processfails, the transparent conductive substrate will be scrapped with thetouch panel and cannot be recycled any more. It is difficult also for atransparent conductive substrate to be formed as a curvy surface.

Moreover, a protective lens needs to be attached and assembled with thetouch panel to be a finished product. Conventionally, the protectivelens and the touch panel were fabricated separately, and then assembledtogether in a proper structure order. The assembling process is complexand tends to decrease yield and to increase the whole thickness of atouch panel. Besides, the attachment of a protective lens onto the touchpanel is attributed to a key process of bonding rigid panels. Thisprocess is difficult and even need to be outsourced to the OriginalEquipment Manufacturer (OEM).

TECHNICAL SUMMARY

To improve the remaining drawbacks of the prior arts, the primaryobjective of the present disclosure is to provide a touch panelstructure and its manufacturing method, which forms a touch-panelconductor structure layer on a bonding layer to be joined to a planar orcurvy panel of arbitrary curvature, so as to lower the material andproduction costs, improve the production yield, and simplify the panellamination procedures in the manufacturing process, and, furthermore, tofacilitate design of a thinner product.

According to one aspect of the present invention, the disclosureprovides a touch panel structure, comprising: a bonding layer; and aconductive pattern layer formed on the bonding layer and comprising atleast one first major conductor, at least one second major conductor,and an insulation layer interposed between the first and second majorconductors.

According to another aspect of the present invention, the disclosureprovides a method for manufacturing a touch panel, comprising the stepsof: providing a transparent conductive film, a bonding layer, and atemporary base film, wherein the transparent conductive film is joinedto one side of the bonding layer, and the temporary base film is joinedto the other side of the bonding layer; patterning the transparentconductive film to form a conductive pattern layer; forming a protectivelayer on the conductive pattern layer; coating a protective coveringfilm on the protective layer; and peeling off the temporary base film todisclose the bonding layer, and sticking the bonding layer on a planaror curvy panel.

According to another aspect of the present invention, the disclosurefurther provides another method for manufacturing a touch panel,comprising the steps of providing a first transparent conductive film, afirst bonding layer, and a first temporary base film, wherein the firsttransparent conductive film is joined to one side of the first bondinglayer, and the first temporary base film is joined to the other side ofthe first bonding layer; patterning the first transparent conductivefilm to form a first conductive pattern layer; providing a secondtransparent conductive film, a second bonding layer, and a secondtemporary base film, wherein the second transparent conductive film isjoined to one side of the second bonding layer, and the second temporarybase film is joined to the other side of the second bonding layer;patterning the second transparent conductive film to form a secondconductive pattern layer; forming a protective layer on the secondconductive pattern layer; coating a protective covering film on theprotective layer; and peeling off the second temporary base film todisclose the second bonding layer, and sticking the second bonding layeron the first conductive pattern layer.

Further scope of applicability of the present application will becomemore apparent from the detailed description given hereinafter. However,it should be understood that the detailed description and specificexamples, while indicating exemplary embodiments of the disclosure, aregiven by way of illustration only, since various changes andmodifications within the spirit and scope of the disclosure will becomeapparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present disclosure will become more fully understood from thedetailed description given herein below and the accompanying drawingswhich are given by way of illustration only, and thus are not limitativeof the present disclosure and wherein:

FIGS. 1 to 7 show evolutionary steps of fabrication process of asingle-panel touch panel structure, according to the first embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIG. 8 shows a schematic layout of a single-panel touch panel accordingto the first embodiment.

FIG. 9 schematically illustrates that bonding the conductive patternlayer onto a planar panel according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 10 shows the conductive pattern layer bonded to the planar panelaccording to the first embodiment.

FIG. 11 schematically illustrates that bonding the conductive patternlayer onto a curvy panel according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 12 shows the conductive pattern layer bonded to the curvy panelaccording to the first embodiment.

FIGS. 13 to 20 show evolutionary steps of fabrication process of adouble-panel touch panel structure, according to the second embodimentof the present invention.

FIG. 21 shows a schematic layout of a double-panel touch panel accordingto the second embodiment.

FIG. 22 schematically illustrates that bonding the conductive patternlayer onto a planar panel according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 23 shows the conductive pattern layer bonded to the planar panelaccording to the second embodiment.

FIG. 24 shows a schematic diagram of a touch panel according to anotherembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 25 shows a schematic diagram of a touch panel according to anotherembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 26 shows a schematic diagram of a touch panel according to anotherembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 27 shows a schematic diagram of a touch panel according to anotherembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 28 shows a schematic diagram of a touch panel according to anotherembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 29 shows a schematic diagram of a touch panel according to anotherembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 30 shows a schematic diagram of a touch-sensitive display deviceaccording to an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 31 shows a schematic diagram of a touch-sensitive display deviceaccording to another embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 32 shows a schematic diagram of a touch-sensitive display deviceaccording to another embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 33 shows a schematic diagram of a touch-sensitive display deviceaccording to another embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 34 shows a schematic diagram of a touch-sensing electrode structureaccording to an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 35 shows a schematic diagram of a touch-sensitive display deviceaccording to another embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 36 shows a schematic diagram of a touch-sensitive display deviceaccording to another embodiment of the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

The principles of the embodiments are described for illustrativepurposes. However, one of ordinary skill in the art would readilyrecognize that the same principles are equally applicable to and can beimplemented with variations that do not depart from the spirit and scopeof the embodiments. In the following detailed description, referencesare made to the accompanying figures that illustrate specificembodiments.

FIGS. 1 to 7 schematically illustrate evolutionary steps of fabricationprocess of a single-panel touch panel structure according to a firstembodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 1, a transparentconductive layer 1 is formed on upper side of a bonding layer 2, whichis composed of transparent photo-curing adhesive. A temporary base film3 is joined to the lower side of the bonding layer 2. The transparentconductive layer 1 is patterned by means of the wet or dry etchingprocess to form a plurality of first major conductors 11, a plurality ofsecond major conductors 12, and a plurality of second conductive wires13, wherein each of the first major conductors 11 alternates with eachof the second major conductors 12, and the second conductive wires 13are connected with the second major conductors 12, as shown in FIG. 2.On the second conductive wires 13, an insulation layer 4 is formed bymeans of the ink-jet printing, screen-printing, physical vapordeposition (PVD), or chemical vapor deposition (CVD), to isolate thefirst major conductors 11 and the second major conductors 12, as shownin FIG. 3. On the insulation layer 4, a plurality of first conductivewires 5 are formed by means of the ink-jet printing, screen-printing,PVD or CVD, to connect electrically the adjacent first major conductorelements 11 like a bridge, as shown in FIG. 4. On edges of the bondinglayer 2, first conductive routing leads 6 are formed to connectelectrically the first major conductors 11, as shown in FIG. 5. Itshould be noticed that second conductive routing leads 161 are formed atthe same time to connect electrically the second major conductors 12, asshown in FIG. 8. The first conductive routing leads 6 and the secondconductive routing leads 161 are formed by means of ink-jet printing,screen-printing, PVD, or CVD, on the bonding layer 2. Thus, the firstmajor conductors 11, the second major conductors 12, the secondconductive wires 13, the insulation layer 4, the first conductive wires5, the first conductive routing leads 6 and the second conductiverouting leads 161 structure a conductive pattern layer. A protectivelayer 7 is formed on the conductive pattern layer, as shown in FIG. 6,and then a protective covering film 8 is coated on the protective layer7. The protective layer 7 is mainly used to prevent the conductivepattern layer from being scraped and to improve optical performance ofthe device. The protective covering film 8 is mainly used to increasethe overall thickness to facilitate peeling off the temporary base film,except for its protection function. It is noticed that the protectivecovering film 8 can be peeled off.

FIG. 8 shows a schematic layout of a single-panel touch panel accordingto the first embodiment. The single-panel touch panel 100 comprises aplurality of first major conductors 111 and a plurality of second majorconductors 112. The first major conductors 111 are composed of five rowsof transverse conductor array elements, wherein the elements in each rowof the array are connected via first conductive wires 105, and the edgeelements of each row are connected to the first conductive routing leads106. The first major conductors 111, the first conductive wires 105, andthe first conductive routing leads 106 correspond to the first majorconductors 11, the first conductive wires 5, and the first conductiverouting leads 6 in FIG. 7, respectively. On the other hand, the secondmajor conductors 112 are composed of five columns of longitudinalconductor array elements, wherein the elements in each column of thearray are connected via second conductive wires 113. An insulation layer104 is then coated on the second conductive wires 113, so that thesecond conductive wires 113 will not contact electrically with theconductive wires 105. The second conductive routing leads 161 aredisposed to connect the edge elements of the second major conductors 112with external circuits. The second major conductors 112, the secondconductive wires 113, and the insulation layer 104 respectivelycorrespond to the second major conductors 12, the second conductivewires 13, and the insulation layer 4 in FIG. 7. The first conductivewires 105, the second conductive wires 113, the first conductive routingleads 106, and the second conductive routing leads 161 are formed bymeans of the ink-jet printing, screen-printing, PVD, or CVD. Thisembodiment illustrates the feasibility for the single-panel touch paneland its manufacturing method according to the present invention.

FIG. 9 schematically illustrates the step of bonding the conductivepattern layer after peeling the temporary base film 3 off the touchpanel structure as in FIG. 7 onto the surface of an object 9, accordingto the first embodiment. The result is shown in FIG. 10. The object 9can be a lens, a display panel, and a glass or plastic substrate. Afterall, the protective covering film 8 can be peeled off.

Referring to FIGS. 1 to 7, a method for manufacturing a single-paneltouch panel according to the first embodiment, comprises the followingsteps:

Step A1: Providing a transparent conductive film 1, a bonding layer 2,and a temporary base film 3, wherein the transparent conductive film 1is joined to upper side of the bonding layer 2, while the temporary basefilm 3 is joined to the lower side of the bonding layer 2.

Step A2: Patterning the transparent conductive film 1 to form aconductive pattern layer, wherein the conductive pattern layer iscomposed of a plurality of first major conductors 11, a plurality ofsecond major conductors 12, a plurality of second conductive wires 13,an insulation layer 4, a plurality of first conductive wires 5, firstconductive routing leads 6 and second conductive routing leads 161 (asshown in FIG. 8). To pattern the transparent conductive film 1, the stepcomprises:

Step A21: forming the first major conductors 11 and the second majorconductors 12;

Step A22: forming the second conductive wires 13 to connect the secondmajor conductors 12;

Step A23: forming an insulation layer 4 on the second conductive wires13; and

Step A24: forming the first conductive wires 5 and the first conductiverouting leads 6 to connect the first major conductors 11.

Step A3: Forming a protective layer 7 on the conductive pattern layerthat is composed of the first major conductors 11, the second majorconductors 12, the insulation layer 4, the first conductive wires 5, thefirst conductive routing leads 6, and second conductive routing leads.

Step A4: Coating a protective covering film 8 on the protective layer 7.

Step A5: Peeling off the temporary base film 3 to disclose the bondinglayer 2, and sticking the bonding layer 2 on a planar or curvy panel(referring to the object 9 in FIG. 9).

The insulation layer 4, the first conductive wires 5, and the firstconductive routing leads 6 can be formed by means of the ink-jetprinting, screen-printing, PVD, or CVD. If screen-printing is employed,the thickness of both the insulation layer 4 and the first conductivewires 5 is about 0.3 μm. If ink-jet printing is employed, the thicknessof both the insulation layer 4 and the first conductive wires 5 is about1-2 μm. To achieve a thicker film, multiple processes of the ink jetprinting may be used.

FIG. 11 schematically illustrates bonding the touch panel structure ontoa curvy panel, according to the first embodiment of the presentinvention. For a concave object 9A, after the temporary base film ispeeled off, the conductive pattern layer that is composed of the firstmajor conductors 11, the second major conductors 12, the secondconductive wires 13, the insulation layer 4, the first conductive wires5, the first conductive routing leads 6, and the second conductiverouting leads, can be sticked on curvy surface of the object 9A via thebonding layer 2. Then, the protective covering film 8 is peeled off, asshown in FIG. 12. In the embodiment, the conductive pattern layer of thetouch panel is formed on a flexible bonding layer, so it can be stickedon a non-planar surface. Except for the concave surface shown in FIG.11, the conductive pattern layer can be bonded onto convex, regular ornon-regular curvy surfaces. Moreover, an un-patterned transparentconductive film can also be bonded onto the lower side of the bondinglayer 2, so as to shield the touch devices.

As to a double-panel touch panel, FIGS. 13 to 20 schematicallyillustrate evolutionary steps of fabrication process according to asecond embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 13, atransparent conductive layer la is formed on upper side of a bondinglayer 2 a, which is composed of transparent photo-curing adhesive. Atemporary base film 3 a is joined to the lower side of the bonding layer2 a. The transparent conductive layer la is patterned by the wet or dryetching to form a plurality of first major conductors 11 a. Between anytwo adjacent first major conductor elements, a first conductive wire 12a is formed by means of the ink-jet printing, screen-printing, PVD orCVD, as shown in FIG. 14. On edges of the bonding layer 2 a, a pluralityof first conductive routing leads 6 a are formed by means of the ink-jetprinting, screen-printing, PVD, or CVD, to connect electrically thefirst major conductors 11 a, as shown in FIG. 15. Thus, the first majorconductors 11 a, the first conductive wires 5 a, the first conductiverouting leads 6 a are formed on the bonding layer 2 a as a firstconductive pattern layer. Referring to FIG. 16, a transparent conductivelayer 1 b is formed on upper side of a bonding layer 2 b, which iscomposed of transparent photo-curing adhesive. A temporary base film 3 bis joined to the lower side of the bonding layer 2 b. The transparentconductive layer 1 b is patterned by wet or dry etching to form aplurality of second major conductors 12 b and a plurality of secondconductive wires 13 b that connect with the second major conductors 12b, as shown in FIG. 17. On edges of the bonding layer 2 b, secondconductive routing leads 61 b are formed by means of the ink-jetprinting, screen-printing, PVD, or CVD, to connect electrically thesecond major conductors 12 b. Thus, the second major conductors 12 b,the second conductive wires 13 b, the second conductive routing leads 61b are formed on the bonding layer 2 b as a second conductive patternlayer, as shown in FIG. 18.

FIG. 19 schematically illustrates the step of bonding the secondconductive pattern layer after peeling the temporary base film 3 b offonto the first conductive pattern layer as shown in FIG. 15. Thus, thebonding layer 2 b lapping over the first major conductors 11 astructures as an isolation layer between the first major conductors 11 aand the second major conductors 12 b. Such an end item is shown in FIG.20. It is noticed that a protective layer and a protective covering filmas illustrated in FIG. 7 do not show up in the embodiment. Such a caseinfers that either the protective layer or the protective covering filmis not indispensable and it depends on the practical situation.Moreover, each first major conductor 11 a and each second majorconductor 12 b interlace to each other as illustrated in FIG. 21, adouble-panel touch panel structure according to the second embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIG. 21 shows a schematic layout of a double-panel touch panel accordingto the second embodiment. The double-panel touch panel 200 comprisesplural first major conductors 211 and plural second major conductors212. The first major conductors 211 is composed of five rows oftransverse conductor array elements, wherein the elements in each row ofthe array are connected via first conductive wires 205, and the edgeelements of each row are connected to the first conductive routing leads206. The first major conductors 211, the first conductive wires 205, andthe first conductive routing leads 206 respectively correspond to thefirst major conductors 11 a, the first conductive wires 5 a, and thefirst conductive routing leads 6 a in FIG. 20. Since the first majorconductors 211, the first conductive wires 205, and the first conductiverouting leads 206 are located in lower layers, they are indicated withdash-line in FIG. 21. On the other hand, the second major conductors 212are composed of five columns of longitudinal conductor array elements,wherein the elements in each column of the array are connected viasecond conductive wires 213.

The second conductive wires 213 and the first conductive wires 205 arelocated in different layers, so they do not electrically contact witheach other. The second conductive routing leads 261 are disposed toconnect the second major conductors 212 with external circuits. Thesecond major conductors 212, the second conductive wires 213, and thesecond conductive routing leads 261 respectively correspond to thesecond major conductors 12 b, the second conductive wires 13 b, and thesecond conductive routing leads 61 b in FIG. 20. The first conductivewires 205, the second conductive wires 213, the first conductive routingleads 206, and the second conductive routing leads 261 are formed bymeans of the ink-jet printing, screen-printing, PVD, or CVD. Theembodiment illustrates the feasibility for the double-panel touch paneland its manufacturing method according to the present invention. FIG. 22schematically illustrates bonding the conductive pattern layer afterpeeling the temporary base film 3 a off the touch panel structure as inFIG. 20 onto the surface of an object 9. The result is shown in FIG. 23.The object 9 can be a lens, a display panel, and a glass or plasticsubstrate. Moreover, the object 9 can have a concave, convex, regular ornon-regular curvy surface.

Referring to FIGS. 13 to 20, a method for manufacturing a double-paneltouch panel according to the second embodiment, comprises the followingsteps:

Step B1: Providing a first transparent conductive film 1 a, a firstbonding layer 2 a, and a first temporary base film 3 a, wherein thefirst transparent conductive film 1 a is joined to the upper side of thefirst bonding layer 2 a, while the first temporary base film 3 a isjoined to the lower side of the first bonding layer 2 a.

Step B2: Patterning the first transparent conductive film la to form afirst conductive pattern layer, wherein the first conductive patternlayer is composed of a plurality of first major conductors 11 a, aplurality of first conductive wires 5 a, and first conductive routingleads 6 a. To pattern the first transparent conductive film la to formthe first conductive pattern layer, the steps comprises:

Step B21: forming the first major conductors 11 a; and

Step B22: forming the first conductive wires 5 a and the firstconductive routing leads 6 a to connect the first major conductors 11 a.

Step B3: Providing a second transparent conductive film 1 b, a secondbonding layer 2 b, and a second temporary base film 3 b, wherein thesecond transparent conductive film 1 b is joined to the upper side ofthe second bonding layer 2 b, while the second temporary base film 3 bis joined to the lower side.

Step B4: Patterning the second transparent conductive film 1 b to form asecond conductive pattern layer, wherein the second conductive patternlayer is composed of a plurality of second major conductors 12 b, aplurality of second conductive wires 13 b, and second conductive routingleads 61 b. To pattern the second transparent conductive film 1 b toform the second conductive pattern layer, the steps comprises:

Step B41: forming the second major conductors 12 b;

Step B42: forming the second conductive wires 13 b and the secondconductive routing leads 61 b to connect the second major conductors 12b; and then forming a protective layer 7 onto the second majorconductors 12 b and the second conductive wires 13 b, and then coating aprotective covering film on the protective layer.

Step B5: Peeling off the second temporary base film 3 b to disclose thesecond bonding layer 2 b, and sticking the second bonding layer 2 b onthe first conductive pattern layer.

From the above description, the disclosure according to the presentinvention provides a touch panel structure and its manufacturing method,which forms a touch-panel conductor structure layer on a bonding layerto be joined to a planar or curvy panel of arbitrary curvature, so as tolower the material and production costs, improve the production yield,and simplify the panel lamination procedures in the manufacturingprocess, and, furthermore, to facilitate the design of a thinnerproduct. This invention can apply at least to single-panel anddouble-panel touch panels.

FIG. 24 shows a schematic diagram of a touch panel according to anotherembodiment of the invention. Referring to FIG. 24, in a touch panel 20a, a touch-sensing electrode structure 22 is formed on a flexiblesubstrate 24, and the flexible substrate 24 is connected to a curvycover glass 26 via a bonding layer 2. The flexible substrate 24 may bemade of ultra-thin glass or a film. The ultra-thin glass is preferablysmaller than or equal to 0.1 mm, the film may be a plastic film, and thebonding layer 2 may include an optically clear adhesive. In thisembodiment, a decorative layer 32 is disposed on the flexible substrate24, a metal trace layer 36 is disposed on a periphery of thetouch-sensing electrode structure 22, and the touch-sensing electrodestructure 22 is electrically connected to a flexible printed circuitboard 34 via the metal trace layer 36. The decorative layer 32 is, forexample, disposed on a periphery of the flexible substrate 24 and mayinclude at least one of ceramic, diamond-like carbon, color ink, photoresist and resin. In an alternate embodiment shown in FIG. 25, thedecorative layer 32 is disposed on the curvy cover glass 26 of a touchpanel 20 b, and the flexible substrate 24 is connected to the curvycover glass 26 having the decorative layer 32 via the bonding layer 2.Further, a shape of the flexible substrate 24 is substantially the sameas a shape of the curvy cover glass 26. For example, the flexiblesubstrate 24 is bent to have a curvature substantially the same as acurvature of the curvy cover glass 26. According to the aboveembodiments, a flexible substrate with a comparatively thin thickness(≦0.1 mm) and high flexibility may facilitate its attachment to a curvycover glass to form a thin and compact curved-shaped touch panel.

FIG. 26 shows a schematic diagram of a touch panel according to anotherembodiment of the invention. Referring to FIG. 26, in a touch panel 20c, a touch-sensing electrode structure 22 is formed on one side of theflexible substrate 24 facing the curvy cover glass 26. A conductivemedia 38 such as a conductive spacer is disposed between the flexiblesubstrate 24 and the curvy cover glass 26 and electrically connectedwith the touch-sensing electrode structure 22 and the flexible printedcircuit board 34 via the metal trace layer 36, and the flexible printedcircuit board 34 and the curvy cover glass 26 are bonded together. Underthe circumstance, since the bonding of the flexible printed circuitboard 34 is performed on the curvy cover glass 26, the flexiblesubstrate 24 is not liable to crack or deform during the bondingprocess. Further, the touch panel according to different embodiments ofthe invention is not limited to a specific shape. For example, as shownin FIG. 27, the touch panel 20 d may have a wavy shape, and the curvycover glass 26 and the flexible substrate 24 (such as made of ultra-thinglass) may correspondingly have a wavy shape. In an alternate embodimentshown in FIG. 28, the flexible substrate 24 and the curvy cover glass 26of a touch panel 20 e are spaced apart by an air gap 42 and bondedtogether by a sealant 44 disposed on a periphery of the air gap 42 andsurrounding the air gap 42. FIG. 29 shows a schematic diagram of a touchpanel according to another embodiment of the invention. Referring toFIG. 29, in a touch panel 20 f, the touch-sensing electrode structure 22is formed on one side of the flexible substrate 24 facing the curvycover glass 26, a conductive media 38 is electrically connected with thetouch-sensing electrode structure 22 and the flexible printed circuitboard 34, and the flexible substrate 24 and the curvy cover glass 26 arebonded together by the sealant 44.

FIG. 30 shows a schematic diagram of a touch-sensitive display deviceaccording to an embodiment of the invention. Referring to FIG. 30, in atouch-sensitive display device 30 a, an organic light-emitting diode(OLED) 52 is formed on a flexible substrate 24, and a curvy cover glass26 covers the OLED 52. In this embodiment, the curvy cover glass 26 alsoserves as a sealing cap, and the curvy cover glass 26 together with asealant 44 seals the OLED 52 between the flexible substrate 24 and thecurvy cover glass 26. The touch-sensing electrode structure 22 isdisposed on the curvy cover glass 26 by, for example, ink-jet printing.Further, the touch-sensing electrode structure 22 may include, but notlimited to, an inorganic conductive material, a metallic conductivematerial, an oxide conductive material, a carbon nanotube conductivematerial, a nanotube fiber conductive material, a nanotube particleconductive material, a conductive polymer material, a metal polymercomposite conductive material, a conductive polymer doped with a carboncompound, and a conductive polymer doped with an inorganic compound. Inthis embodiment, the touch-sensing electrode structure 22 is formed onone side of the curvy cover glass 26 facing the OLED 52, with a filler54 being interposed between the touch-sensing electrode structure 22 andthe OLED 52. The sealant 44 surrounds the filler 54 and seals, togetherwith the curvy cover glass 26 the OLED 52. The flexible printed circuitboard 34 is attached to the curvy cover glass 26 and electricallyconnected to the touch-sensing electrode structure 22. A decorativelayer 32 is formed on a periphery of the curvy cover glass 26 and mayinclude at least one of diamond like carbon, ceramic, colored ink, resinand photo resist. In this embodiment, the touch-sensing electrodestructure 22 is in the form of a single-layer structure. In an alternateembodiment, the first touch-sensing electrode structure 20 a may be inthe form of a multi-layer structure. For example, as shown in FIG. 31,the touch-sensing electrode structure 22 of a touch-sensitive displaydevice 30 b may include first sensing series 221 (such as first majorconductors 11 and first conductive wires 5 shown in FIG. 7), secondsensing series 222 (such as second major conductors 12 and secondconductive wires 13 shown in FIG. 7), and an insulation layer 4 (shownin FIG. 7). According to the above embodiments, since the curvy coverglass 26 also serves as a sealing cap, a sealing cap of a conventionalOLED device is allowed to be omitted to further reduce the weight andthickness of a touch-sensitive display device.

FIG. 32 shows a schematic diagram of a touch-sensitive display deviceaccording to another embodiment of the invention. Referring to FIG. 32,in a touch-sensitive display device 30 c, the OLED 52 is formed on theflexible substrate 24, the passivation layer 56 is formed on theflexible substrate 24 and covers the OLED 52, and the touch-sensingelectrode structure 22 is formed on the passivation layer 56. In thisembodiment, the curvy cover glass 26 also serves as a sealing cap, afiller 54 is interposed between the touch-sensing electrode structure 22and the curvy cover glass 26, and the sealant 44 surrounds the filler54. Certainly, the touch-sensing electrode structure 22 according tothis embodiment may be in the form of a single-layer structure or amulti-layer structure.

FIG. 33 shows a schematic diagram of a touch-sensitive display deviceaccording to another embodiment of the invention. Referring to FIG. 33,in a touch-sensitive display device 30 d, the OLED 52 is formed on theflexible substrate 24, and the passivation layer 56 is formed on theflexible substrate 24 and covers the OLED 52. The OLED 52 may include alight-emitting layer 52 a, an anode layer 52 b and a cathode layer 52 c,and the touch-sensing electrode structure 22 may include a plurality offirst sensing series 221 and second sensing series 222. Please alsorefer to FIG. 34, in this embodiment, the cathode layer 52 c of the OLED52 is patterned to also serve as the first sensing series 221 of thetouch-sensing electrode structure 22. Further, the second sensing series222 is formed on the passivation layer 56. According to the aboveembodiment, since the cathode layer 52 c of the OLED 52 is patterned toalso serve as the first sensing series 221, the wiring of thetouch-sensing electrode structure 22 is simplified to reduce fabricationcomplexity and costs and increase the light-transmittance of atouch-sensitive display device.

FIG. 35 shows a schematic diagram of a touch-sensitive display deviceaccording to another embodiment of the invention. Referring to FIG. 35,in a touch-sensitive display device 30 e, the OLED 52 is formed on afirst flexible substrate 24 a, and the touch-sensing electrode structure22 is disposed on a second flexible substrate 24 b. The second flexiblesubstrate 24 b covers the organic light-emitting diode, the filler 54 isinterposed between the touch-sensing electrode structure 22 and theorganic light-emitting diode 52, and the sealant 44 surrounding thefiller 54 and seals the organic light-emitting diode 52. The curvy coverglass 26 is connected to the second flexible substrate 24 b via thebonding layer 2, and the bonding layer 2 may include an optically clearadhesive. In this embodiment, the touch-sensing electrode structure 22is a single layer structure formed on the second flexible substrate 24b. In an alternate embodiment shown in FIG. 36, the touch-sensingelectrode structure 22 of a touch-sensitive display device 30 f is amulti-layer structure including a plurality of first sensing series 221and second sensing series 222, and the first sensing series 221 and thesecond sensing series 222 are spaced apart by the passivation layer 56.The first sensing series 221 may also serve as a cathode layer 52 c ofthe organic light-emitting diode 52.

With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized thatthe optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of the disclosure,to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function andmanner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent andobvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships tothose illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification areintended to be encompassed by the present disclosure.

What is claimed is:
 1. A touch panel, comprising: a flexible substrate;a touch-sensing electrode structure formed on the flexible substrate;and a curvy cover glass connected to the flexible substrate and thetouch-sensing electrode structure via a bonding layer, wherein theflexible substrate, the touch-sensing electrode structure and the curvycover glass are arranged in order, with the touch-sensing electrodestructure being located between the flexible substrate and the curvycover glass.
 2. The touch panel as claimed in claim 1, wherein theflexible substrate is made of ultra-thin glass or a film.
 3. The touchpanel as claimed in claim 1, wherein a shape of the flexible substrateis substantially the same as a shape of the curvy cover glass.
 4. Thetouch panel as claimed in claim 1, wherein the curvy cover glass has awavy shape.
 5. The touch panel as claimed in claim 1, wherein thebonding layer comprises an optically clear adhesive.
 6. The touch panelas claimed in claim 1, wherein the bonding layer comprises an air gapand a sealant surrounding the air gap.
 7. The touch panel as claimed inclaim 1, further comprising: a decorative layer disposed on the flexiblesubstrate or the curvy cover glass.
 8. The touch panel as claimed inclaim 7, wherein the decorative layer comprises at least one of ceramic,diamond-like carbon, color ink, photo resist and resin.
 9. The touchpanel as claimed in claim 1, further comprising: a metal trace layerelectrically connected to the touch-sensing electrode structure; and aflexible printed circuit board electrically connected to the metal tracelayer.
 10. The touch panel as claimed in claim 9, wherein the touchpanel further comprising a conductive media disposed between theflexible substrate and the curvy cover glass and electrically connectedwith the touch-sensing electrode structure and the flexible printedcircuit board.
 11. A touch-sensitive display device, comprising: aflexible substrate; an organic light-emitting diode formed on theflexible substrate; a curvy cover glass covering the organiclight-emitting diode; and a touch-sensing electrode structure disposedbetween the organic light-emitting diode and the curvy cover glass,wherein the flexible substrate, the touch-sensing electrode structureand the curvy cover glass are arranged in order.
 12. The touch-sensitivedisplay device as claimed in claim 11, wherein the touch-sensingelectrode structure is in the form of a single-layer structure or amulti-layer structure.
 13. The touch-sensitive display device as claimedin claim 11, wherein the flexible substrate is made of ultra-thin glassor a film.
 14. The touch-sensitive display device as claimed in claim11, further comprising: a filler interposed between the touch-sensingelectrode structure and the organic light-emitting diode; and a sealantsurrounding the filler and sealing the organic light-emitting diode. 15.The touch-sensitive display device as claimed in claim 11, furthercomprising: a passivation layer formed on the flexible substrate andcovering the organic light-emitting diode, wherein the touch-sensingelectrode structure is formed on the passivation layer.
 16. Thetouch-sensitive display device as claimed in claim 15, furthercomprising: a filler interposed between the touch-sensing electrodestructure and the curvy cover glass; and a sealant surrounding thefiller.
 17. The touch-sensitive display device as claimed in claim 11,wherein the touch-sensing electrode structure comprises a plurality offirst sensing series and second sensing series, wherein the firstsensing series serve as a cathode layer of the organic light-emittingdiode.
 18. The touch-sensitive display device as claimed in claim 17,wherein the second sensing series are formed on the curvy cover glass.19. The touch-sensitive display device as claimed in claim 17, furthercomprising: a passivation layer formed on the flexible substrate andcovering the organic light-emitting diode, wherein the touch-sensingelectrode structure is formed on the passivation layer.
 20. Atouch-sensitive display device, comprising: a first flexible substrate;an organic light-emitting diode formed on the first flexible substrate;a second flexible substrate covering the organic light-emitting diode; atouch-sensing electrode structure disposed on the second flexiblesubstrate; and a curvy cover glass connected to the second flexiblesubstrate via a bonding layer, wherein the touch-sensing electrodestructure is disposed between the organic light-emitting diode and thecurvy cover glass.
 21. The touch-sensitive display device as claimed inclaim 20, wherein the touch-sensing electrode structure is in the formof a single-layer structure or a multi-layer structure.
 22. Thetouch-sensitive display device as claimed in claim 20, wherein thebonding layer comprises an optically clear adhesive.
 23. Thetouch-sensitive display device as claimed in claim 20, furthercomprising: a filler interposed between the touch-sensing electrodestructure and the organic light-emitting diode; and a sealantsurrounding the filler.
 24. The touch-sensitive display device asclaimed in claim 20, wherein the touch-sensing electrode structurecomprises a plurality of first sensing series and second sensing series,wherein the first sensing series serve as a cathode layer of the organiclight-emitting diode.